Saturday, March 17, 2012

KONY 2012 Film Creator's Naked Meltdown - Video

Jason Russell

The film maker behind the Invisible Children's KONY 2012 video has been detained by police in San Diego for allegedly being drunk and masturbating in public. Jason Russell, 33, was arrested at about 11.30am on Thursday after several calls were made to the police about a man in underwear vandalizing cars and disturbing the neighborhood while he seemed under the influence of a substance.

Spokeswoman for the San Diego police, Lieutenant Andra Brown confirmed in a press conference that Russell had been taken to the hospital after his arrest. She said. "He was no problem for the police department. However, during the evaluation we learned that we probably needed to take care of him. So officers detained him and transferred him to a local medical facility for further evaluation and treatment"

Ben Keesey, the CEO of Invisible Children, has addressed the situation, He said "Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday."

He continued, "Jason’s passion and his work have done so much to help so many, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue. We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time.”

The Invisible Children's 30-minute video, which raised awareness to the rebel army leader in Uganda - who is accused of abducting more than 30,000 children over the past 26 years and forcing them into slavery and prostitution. The video has been viewed more than 76 million times in the past two weeks.

Since the video went viral via social media, the Invisible Children charity came under scrutiny for a perceived lack of transparency in its financial records and for over-simplifying a complex issue, the Guardian reported.